1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a leaf collector and comminutor and more particularly to such a device which is movable on wheels and which has a motor drive.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has heretofore been proposed to provide lawn sweepers for collecting leaves on a lawn and to provide wheel supported vacuum cleaning equipment for the collection of leaves on a lawn for disposal.
It has also been proposed, as in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,857,521, to Aasland, et al., to provide for shredding and bagging of leaves but this requires the collection of the leaves by the user and introduction of the collected leaves into a hopper.
Buchanan, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,864,973 shows a rock breaker, which is not intended for leaf comminution and with no movement for accommodation of the rotary blades to obstacles within the fixed housing.
Miller, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,264,049, and Kost in U.S. Pat. No. 1,501,282 show hoppers for supplying material to a rotating drum for reduction in size but these have little in common with the structure herein disclosed.
Elofson, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,670,775 shows a disintegrating and scattering device with rotating arms and with blades which are swingably mounted to prevent clogging.
Martinson et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 3,688,479 show leaf comminuting apparatus with pivotally carried blades mounted in housings which limit their movement and which rotate close to the fixed blades in the housing so that they would not accommodate to sticks or stones in the housing.
Lenelson, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,877,207 shows an appliance for foliage removal and for chopping and mulching the same in which the material to be mulched moves first upwardly and then downwardly through a series of rotary anf fixed blades before upward movement into a collecting bag. The structure is much more complex and has little in common with the structure herein disclosed and makes no provision for accommodation of sticks or stones which may be picked up.
Carmichael, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,800,074, shows a compact shredding machine which is not mobile and which has a plurality of fixed blades and of coil spring urged movable arms on the rotary blades which results in unnecessary complexity of structure without compensating advantages.
It has also been proposed as in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,320,968, to Baudendistel Ochterbeck, 1,189,471, Dryfoos, 1,959,465 and Myrold et al., 2,815,781 to provide pivotally mounted centrifugally positioned blades but these do not function in connection with fan blades for impelling comminuted leafy material.
No wholly satisfactory device has heretofore been available for use by a householder which is mounted on wheels so that it can be moved over a leaf covered surface, and which picks up tree leaves, effects a comminution of the leaves and which delivers the comminuted leaves into a bag for delivery to a location for use or for disposal and which has provisions for avoiding injury to comminuting structure by sticks and stones.